STATUTES 

OF 

/ 

COLUMBIA COLLEGE, 

REVISED AND PASSED 



BOARD OF TRUSTEES, 



MAY, 1836. 



TO WHICH IS PREFIXED 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH 



COLLEGE 



NEW- YORK: 

PRINTED FOR COLUMBIA COLLEGE, 
BY E. B. CLAYTON. 

M DCCC XSXVI. 



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CONTENTS, 



Page 
Historical Sketch of Columbia College 5 

CHAPTER I. 
Of the President 11 

CHAPTER II. 
Of the Faculty of Arts 12 

CHAPTER III. 
Ofthe Board of the College 13 

CHAPTER IV. 
Ofthe Courses of Study 15 

CHAPTER V. 
Of Admission 20 

CHAPTER VI. 
Of Attendance.. 21 

CHAPTER VII. 
Of the Behaviour of the Students 22 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Of Crimes and Punishments 22 

CHAPTER IX. 
Of the Mode of Punishment 23 

CHAPTER X. 
Of Examinations 25 

CHAPTER XL 
Of Testimonials and Medals 26 

CHAPTER XII. 

Of Commencements 28 

CHAPTER XIIL 
Of Vacations 29 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Of Public Lectures 29 

CHAPTER XV. 
Of Free Scholarships 30 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Of Foundations 31 

Extract from the second Report of a Committee appointed to inquire into 
the state of Columbia College 33 



TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE. 

CLEMENT C. MOORE, LL. D. 

DAVID B. OGDEN, 

WILLIAM JOHNSON, LL. D. 

EDWARD W. LAIGHT, 

BEVERLY ROBINSON, 

THOMAS L. OGDEN, 

JOHN T. IRVING, 

DAVID S. JONES, 

PETER A. JAY, LL. D. Chairman of the Board. 

The Right Rev. BENJAMIN T. ONDERDONK, D. D. 

PHILIP HONE, 

CHARLES KING, 

The Rev. WILLIAM CREIGHTON, D. D, 

The Rev. GARDINER SPRING, D. D. 

JAMES CAMPBELL, 

JOHN L. LAWRENCE, 

WILLIAM A. DUER, LL. D. 

EDWARD R. JONES, 

The Rev. WILLIAM BERRIAN, D. D. 

OGDEN HOFFMAN, 

THOMAS W. LUDLOW, 

SAMUEL WARD, 

SAMUEL B. RUGGLES, 

The Rev. JOHN KNOX, D. D. 



FACULTY OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE. 

WILLIAM A. DUER, LL. D. President. 

The Rev. JOHN M'VICKAR, D. D. Professor of Intellectual and Moral Phi- 
losophy, of Political Economy, and of Rhetoric, and the Belles Lettres. 

CHARLES ANTHON, LL. D. Jiz^z-Professor of the Greek and Latin Lan- 
guages and Literature, and Rector of the Grammar School. 

JAMES REN WICK, LL. D. Professor of Natural and Experimental Phi- 
losophy, and Chemistry. 

HENRY J. ANDERSON, M. D. Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy. 
The above, form the Board of the College. 

JAMES KENT, LL. D. Professor of Law. 

LORENZO DA PONTE, Professor of the Italian Language and Literature. 

The Rev. ANTOINE VERREN, A. M. Professor of the French Language, 
and Literature. 

MARIANO VELASQUEZ DE CADENA, LL. B. Professor of the Spanish 
Language and Literature. 

The Rev. SAMUEL H. TURNER, D. D. Professor of the Hebrew Lan- 
guage. 

ROBERT G. VERMILYE, A. M. Classical Instructor of the Freshman Class. 
Librarian, and Secretary to the Board of the College. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



COLUMBIA COLLEGE. 



The establishment of a College in the City of New-York was many 
years in agitation before the design was carried into effect. At lengthy 
in the beginning of the year 1753, an act of Assembly was passed, ap- 
pointing Mr. James De Lancey, who was then Lieutenant Governor of 
the Province and Commander-in-chief, together with other gentlemen 
of the different religious denominations, Trustees of the proposed Insti- 
tution. Provision was also made, by the same act, for a fund to be 
raised by a succession of lotteries. 

In the year 1754, the Trustees above mentioned chose Dr. Samuel 
Johnson, of Connecticut, to be President of the intended College ; who, in 
July of the same year, commenced the instruction of a class of Students 
in the vestry room of Trinity Church. On the 31st of October, in the 
same year, the royal charter was passed ; from which period, the exist- 
ence of the College is properly to be dated. The Governors of the 
College, named in the charter, are the Archbishop of Canterbury, and 
the first Lord Commissioner for trade and plantations, both empowered 
to act by proxies ; the Lieutenant Governor of the Province, and several 
other public oiScers ; together with the Rector of Trinity Church, the 
senior Minister of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, the Ministers 
of the German Lutheran Church, of the French Church, and of the 
Presbyterian Congregation, and the President of the College, all ex 
officio, and twenty-four of the principal gentlemen of the City. The 
College was to be known by the name of King^s College. Previously 
to the passing of the charter, a parcel of ground to the westward of Broad- 
way, on which the College noAV stands, had been destined by the Vestry 
of Trinity Church as a site for the College edifice; and, accordingly, 
after the charter was granted, a grant of the land was made, on the 13th 
of May, 1755. 

The sources, whence the funds of the Institution were derived, besides 
the proceeds of the lotteries above mentioned, were the voluntary con- 
tributions of private individuals in this country, and sums obtained by 



agents who were subsequently sent to England and France. In May, 
17G0, the College buildings began to be occupied. In March, 1763, Dr. 
Johnson resigned his office of President, and the Rev. Dr. Mylcs Cooper, 
of Oxford, wlio had previously been appointed Professor of Moral 
Philosophy, and assistant to the President, was elected in his place. 
In 1767, a grant of land was obtained, under the government of Sir 
Henry Moore, of 24,000 acres, situated in the northern parts of the 
Province of New- York; but, upon the erection of Vermont into a sepa- 
rate state, this tract fell within the boundaries of that territory, and was 
lost to New- York and to the College. 

In August, of the year 1767, a medical school was established in the 
College. 

The following account of the Institution, supposed to be written by 
Dr. Cooper, shows its condition previously to the war of the revolution. 

" Since the passing of the charter, the Institution hath received great 
" emolument by grants from his most gracious majesty King George 
" the Third, and by liberal contributions from many of the nobility and 
" gentry in the parent country ; from the society for the propagation of 
*' the gospel in foreign parts, and from several public spirited gentlemen 
" in America and elsewhere. By means of these and other benefac- 
" tions, the Governors of the College have been enabled to extend their 
" plan of education almost as diffusely as any College in Europe ; 
^' herein being taught, by proper Masters and Professors, who are chosen 
" by the Governors and President, Divinity, Natural Law, Physic, 
" Logic, Ethics, Metaphysics, Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, As- 
" tronomy, Geography, History, Chronology, Rhetoric, Hebrew, Greek, 
** Latin, Modern Languages, the Belles Lettres, and whatever else of 
" literature may tend to accomplish the pupils both as scholars and 
" gentlemen. 

" To the College is also annexed a grammar school, for the due prepa- 
" ration of those who propose to complete their education with the 
*' arts and sciences. 

" All Students, but those in Medicine, are obliged to lodge and diet 
*' in the College, unless they are particularly exempted by the Governors 
" or President ; and the edifice is surrounded by an high fence, which 
*' also encloses a large court and garden, and a porter constantly attends 
** at the front gate, which is closed at ten o'clock each evening in sum- 
" mer, and at nine in winter; after which hours, the names of all that 
*' come in, are delivered weekly to the President. 

" The College is situated on a dry gravelly soil, about 150 yards from 
" the bank of Hudson River, which it overlooks ; commanding from the 
" eminence on which it stands, a most extensive and beautiful prospect 
" of the opposite shore and country of New-Jersey, the City and Island 
" of New-York, Long Island, Staten Island, New- York Bay with its 



'Islands, thii Narrows, forming the moutli of the harbour, «fec. ifcc. ; 
" and being totally uncncuniborcd by any adjacent buildings, and admit- 
" ting the purest circulation of air from the river, and every other 
" (juarter ; has the benefit of as agreeable and healthy a situation as can 
" possibly be conceived. 

" Visitations by the Governors are quarterly ; at which times, pre- 
" miums of books, silver medals, &c. are adjudged to the most de- 
" serving. 

" This Seminary hath already produced a number of gentlemen, who 
" do great honour to their professions, the place of their education, and 
" themselves, in Divinity, Law, Medicine, &c. &c., in this and various 
*' other colonies, both on the American continent and West India Is- 
" lands; and the College is annually increasing as well in Students as 
" reputation." 

In consequence of the dispute between this and the parent country, 
Dr. Cooper returned to England, and the Rev. Benjamin Moore was 
appointed Prccses pro tempore, during the absence of Dr. Cooper ; who, 
however, did Hot return. 

On the breaking out of the revolutionary war, the business of the 
College was almost entirely broken up, and it was not until after the 
return of peace, that its affairs were again regularly attended to. 

In May, 1784, ail the Seminaries of learning in the State of New- 
York were, by an act of the Legislature, placed under the authority of 
Regents, who were styled Regents of the University. These Regents 
immediately set about the regulation of the College, the name of which 
was now changed to Columbia College. New Professors were appointed ; 
a grammar school and a medical department were established. 

The College continued under the immediate superintendence of the 
Regents until April, 1787 ; when the original charter, with necessary 
alterations, was confirmed, and the College placed under twenty-nine 
Trustees, who were to exercise their functions until their number should 
be reduced, by death, resignation, or removal from the State, to twenty- 
four ; after which, all vacancies in their Board were to be filled by their 
own choice. 

In May, 1787, Dr. Wm. Samuel Johnson, son of the first President, was 
elected President of Columbia College. During the previous vacancy 
of the presidential chair, the Professors had presided in turn ; and certi- 
ficates were given to graduates, in place of regular diplomas. 

In the beginning of the year 1792, the medical school was placed upon 
a more respectable and efiicient footing than before. 

Dr. Johnson resigned the office of President in July, 1800, and was 
succeeded, the year following, by the Rev. Dr. Wharton, who resigned 
his office at the end of about seven months. 



8 

Bisliop Moore succeeded Dr. Wharton as President. His ecclesias- 
tical duties were such, that he was not expected to take an active part 
in the business of the College, except on particular occasions. The 
chief management of its concerns devolved upon the Professors. 

In 1809, the requisites for entrance into College, to take effect the fol- 
lowing year, were very much raised, and a new course of study and 
system of discipline were established. 

A new amended charter was obtained from the Legislature in 1810; 
by which the power of the College to lease its real estate for 21 years 
was extended to 63 years. 

Bishop Moore resigned his office of President in May, 1811, in order 
to make room for some person who might devote his whole time and 
attention to the College ; and, in June following, a new office, styled 
that of Provost, was erected. The Provost was to supply the place of 
the President in his absence, and was to conduct the classical studies of 
the senior class. Shortly after this new arrangement, the Rev. Wm. 
Harris, and the Rev. John M. Mason, were elected President and Pro- 
vost. 

In consequence of the establishment of the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons in New- York, the medical school of Columbia College was, 
in November of 1813, discontinued. 

The Provost resigned his office in 1816; since which time, the Col- 
lege has been under the sole superintendence of a President. 

In September of 1817, steps were taken by the Trustees for a thorough 
repair of the old edifice, which was in a very decayed state, and for the 
erection of additional buildings. Before the end of the year 1820, the 
proposed alterations and additions were completed. 

At the close of the year 1827, the Trustees resolved upon the estab- 
lishment of a grammar school, under the superintendence of the Faculty 
of the College. Which resolution was carried into effect early in the 
following year; and, in 1829, a building was erected upon the College 
ground for the accommodation of the scholars. 

In October, of the year 1829, Dr. Harris, the President of the College, 
died; and, on the 9th of December following, Wm. A. Duer, LL. D. 
was elected in his room, and still continues to preside over the Institu- 
tion. 

With a view of rendering the benefits of education more generally 
accessible to the community, the system of instruction, at the commence- 
ment of the year 1830, underwent very extensive additions and modifi- 
cations, and the time of daily attendance upon the Professors was 
materially increased. The course of study in existence at the time of 
making these additions, was kept entire and unchanged, and was deno- 
iiiinated the full course. Another course of instruction was established, 
denominated ihc scienilfic and literary course; wliich latter was open 



9 

to others beside matriculated Students, and to such extent as they might 
think proper to attend. 

In May, 1833, the Jay-Professor of Languages was appointed Rector 
of the Grammar School, and an arrangement, which still continue.?, 
made with him, by which he agreed to pay a rent to the College for the 
building, and take the school upon his own responsibility. 

At the late revision of the Statutes, several new provisions have been 
introduced, by which both courses of study, pursued in the College, have 
been further enlarged ; and the Literary and Scientific course, in par- 
ticular defined and materially extended, with the view of rendering it 
a complete system of Listruction for young men, designed for civil or 
military engineers, architects, superintendents of manufactories of all 
kinds, or for mercantile or nautical pursuits. And in order that this 
course, as well as the scientific branches of the Full course, may be 
conducted in the most perfect and efficient manner, the Trustees have 
recently appropriated the sum often thousand dollars for the purchase 
of additional apparatus in the departments of Natural and Experin)ental 
Philosophy, Chemistry, and its applications to the Arts, and of Mathe- 
matics and Astronomy, as well as for adding to the Library the requisite 
Books of reference and illustration in all the subjects of Study pursued 
in the College. 

The appearance of the College buildings and grounds speaks for 
itself. But those who are acquainted with the interior of the Institu- 
tion, know that its means of Instruction in all the higher branches of 
learning, do not fall short of what might be expected from the respecta- 
bility of its exterior. Among the external improvements, made within 
the last few years, the alterations in Chapel-street shoidd not be passed 
over. In 1830, the range of lots on that Street, adjoining the College 
Green, was re-occupied by the Trustees, and the greater part of each of 
them enclosed within the Green, while the remaining portions were 
thrown open to the Street — the name of which was changed to College 
Place. 



STATUTES 



COLUMBIA COLLEGE 



CHAPTER I. 

OF THE PRESIDENT. 

1. It shall be the duty of the President to take 
charge of the College generally ; to superintend the 
buildings of the College, the grounds adjacent thereto, 
and its movable property ; 

2. To report to the Trustees, as occasion shall 
require, concerning the state of the College, and the 
measures which may be necessary for its future pros- 
perity. 

3. He shall have power to visit the classes, and any 
of the College departments, and to give such directions, 
and perform such acts, generally, as shall, in his judg- 
ment, promote the interest of the Institution, so that 
they do not contravene the Charter, the Statutes, nor 
the decisions of the Board of the College. 

4. It shall be his duty to see that the course of 
instruction and discipline prescribed by the Statutes 
be faithfully executed, and to rectify all deviations 
from the same. 



12 

5. He shall Iiave power to grant leave of absence 
from the College, for a reasonable cause, and for such 
length of time as he shall judge the occasion may 
require. 

6. He shall preside at commencements, and at all 
meetings of the Board of the College ; and shall sign 
all diplomas for degrees duly conferred. 

7. The devotional, and other duties of the Chapel, 
shall be performed by the President ; but in case of 
his absence, they shall be performed by such Pro- 
fessor as he may appoint. The Senior Professor 
shall have, in the absence of the President, the same 
authority to command obedience, and to enforce the 
discipline of the Institution, as the President, when 
present, possesses. 



CHAPTER n. 

OF THE FACULTY OF ARTS. 

1. The President and Professors of the Institution 
shall constitute the Faculty of Arts. 

2. The Professors shall take precedence according 
to the dates of their appointments. 

3. The Students shall be habituated, so far as it 
shall be practicable, to study subjects rather than whole 
books ; and the Professors shall direct them to the best 
helps ; keeping in view the principles of the Report 
presented to the Trustees of the College on the 28th 
day of February, 1810, and which are contained in the 
Extract annexed to these Statutes. 

4. The Professors shall be engaged in the instruction 
of the classes five days in the week. The hours of 
instruction shall commence immediately after the morn- 



13 

ing exercises in the Chapel, and as many of the several 
classes shall attend the Professors and Instructors, four 
hours daily in each week, as the courses of study will 
admit, and in such order and number as to distribute 
the hours of instruction as equally as may be among 
the several Professors and Instructors. 



CHAPTER 111. 

OP THE BOARD OF THE COLLEGE. 

1. It shall be the duty of the Professors to assist 
the President with their information, counsel, and co- 
operation ; and that their assistance may be the more 
effectual, they shall be associated with the President 
in a body, to be called the Board of the College. 

2. The Board shall have power, 

To try offences committed by the Students; 

To determine their relative standing ; 

To adjudge rew^ards and punishments ; and. 

To make all such regulations for the better execu- 
tion of the College system as shall not contravene the 
Charter of the College, nor these Statutes, nor any 
order of the Trustees. 

3. The votes by the other members of the Board 
shall not make a decision without the concurrence of 
the President. 

4. The Board shall keep a record of their proceed- 
ings. 

5. In case of the absence of the President, the Senior 
Professor present shall preside at the meeting of the 
Board ; and all acts of the Board thus constituted, 
shall be valid when approved by the President. 



14 

6. The Board shall meet, statedly, on every Saiitr- 
day^ for the purpose of administering the general dis- 
cipline of the College. At this stated meeting, the 
Professors shall report concerning the conduct and 
proficiency of the members of the respective classes ; 
noting particularly those who have been delinquent in 
their behaviour or attendance ; or deficient or negli- 
gent in their recitations. And in addition to such ad- 
monitions and punishments as the Board may prescribe 
or direct, the names of the Students so delinquent 
deficient, or negligent, may be inserted in the book 
entitled BooU of Discipline. In the same book may, 
also, be inserted, with honour, the names of those 
Students who distinguish themselves for their good 
behaviour and proficiency in their studies. At the 
public examinations, the relative merits of the re- 
spective classes, and the standing of the members 
thereof, shall be entered in the same book. 

7. In the Record of their proceedings kept by the 
Board, shall be noted, at every meeting, the names of 
the members who attend, and the names of those who 
are absent. This Record of the proceedings of the 
Board, and the Book of Discipline, it shall be the duty 
of the President to cause to be laid before the Trustees, 
at their stated meetings. 

8. The Board shall assemble the classes every morn- 
ing, except Sunday, at nine o'clock, for the purpose of 
attending prayers ; after which, on Saturday, six Stu- 
dents, at least, of the senior class, in rotation, shall 
pronounce declamations ; at which not only the Trus- 
tees, but any other persons whom the President may 
think proper to admit, may be present; and, on the 
other days of the week, one Student, at least, from 



15 

each of the other classes, shall, in like manner, pro- 
nounce declamations. 

9. The Officers of the College who have the charge 
of its course of instruction and discipline, shall not be 
engaged in any professional pursuits from which they 
derive emolument, and which are not connected with 
the College. 



CHAPTER IV. 

OF THE COURSES OF STUDY. 

1. There shall be two courses of study; one of 
which shall be distinguished as the Full Course ; the 
successful completion of which shall entitle the student, 
upon the recommendation of the Board of the College, 
to the degree of Bachelor of Arts : the other shall be 
denominated the Literary and Scientific Course ; enti- 
tling the student, upon its successful completion and on 
the like recommendation, to a Testimonial in the 
English language, under the seal of the College, and 
the signatures of the President and of the Professors 
and Instructors conducting such course. 

2. The course of study in the several classes of the 
Full Course shall be as follows, viz. : 

First Year — Freshman Class. 

Horace's Odes and Epodes — Cicero de Seneciute, 
and de Amicitia — Livy — Tacitus — Latin Prose Com- 
position — Dalzell's Collectanea Grceca Major a — Ho- 



16 

mer's Iliad — Greek and Roman Antiquities — Ancient 
Geography. 

Algebra — Theory of Equations of the higher degrees 
— Solutions of Practical Problems — Progressions — 
Logarithms — Series — Interest and Annuities — Ele- 
ments of Plane Geometry — Geometry of Straight Lines 
and Triangles — Theory of Parallels — Doctrine of the 
Circle — Measure of Angles — Geometry of Polygons. 

English Grammar, studied critically, on the principles 
of universal grammar — English Composition — Outlines 
of Ancient History with Chronology. 

Second Year — Sophomore Class. 

Plautus — Cicero's Letters to Atticus — Horace's Sa- 
tires — Virgil's Georgics — Ovid's Fasti — Latin Compo- 
sition, in prose and verse — Herodotus — Thucydides — 
Euripides — Aristophanes — Ancient Geography re- 
viewed. 

Geometry of Similar Figures — Analytical Plane 
Geometry — Analytical Plane Trigonometry — Applica- 
tions — Mensuration of Heights and Distances — Sur- 
veying — Solid Geometry — Doctrine of the Sphere — 
Analytical Solid Geometry— Analytical Spherical Trigo- 
nometry — Projections — Descriptive Geometry — Linear 
Drawing — Levelling — Navigation. 

Elementary Chemistry — Heat — Electricity — Gal- 
vanism — Magnetism — Optics — Relations of Heat, 
Electricity, Magnetism and Light. 

Elements of Rhetoric and Oratory — English Com- 
positions, to be read in the Lecture-room, and criti- 
cised by the Professor in the presence of the class — 
Outlines of Modern History, with enlargements and 



17 

explanations, and a weekly analysis reqiiired from each 
student. 

Third Year — Junior Class. 

Cicero i/e Officiis, and de Oratore — Horace's Epistles 
and Art of Poetry — Terence — Latin Composition, in 
prose and verse — Course of Lectures on Roman Litera- 
ture, with weekly examinations. — ^schylus — Longinus 
— Greek Orators — Greek Prose Composition. 

Practical Astronomy — Use of instruments — Laws 
of the Planetary Motions — Theory of the Tides — Nau- 
tical Astronomy — General View of the Solar and Stel- 
lar Systems — Outlines of the Theory of Universal 
Gravitation. 

Chemistry applied to the Arts — Mineralogy — Geo- 
logy- 
Principles of Taste and Criticism, theoretically 
examined and practically applied, conducted by Lec- 
tures and Recitations, with references to books — A 
course of Lectures on English Literature, and the Mo- 
dern Literature of Europe generally, with references 
to authorities, and written analyses required weekly — 
Enghsh Composition, as in the Sophomore Year. 

Fourth Year — Senior Class. 

Philosophical Works of Cicero — Quintilian — Lucre- 
tius — Latin Composition, in prose and verse — Plato — 
Sophocles — Pindar — Greek Composition, in prose and 
verse — A course of Lectures on Greek Literature, with 
weekly examinations. 

Differential and Integral Calculus — Calculus of Vari- 
ations — Applications to Geometry, Mechanics, and 
Physical Astronomy. 

3 



18 

Rational and Practical Mechanics — Principles t)f 
Civil and Military Architecture, and Civil Engineer- 
ing, illustrated by drawings and models. 

History of Philosophy — Principles of Moral and In- 
tellectual Philosophy including Logic — Political Econo- 
my — Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion ; the 
several courses conducted by Lecture with references to 
authorities, and the notes and analyses of the Students 
examined weekly — English Compositions, as in the 
Junior and Sophomore Years. 

A course of lectures on the Constitutional Jurispru- 
dence of the United States — Outlines of Inter-national 
Law. 

N. B. In the classical department, it is to be under- 
stood that the whole, or such parts of the book, or 
author, are to be read, as the Professor, with the con- 
sent of the President, shall direct. Declamations and 
Forensic Disputations to be continued through the 
Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Years, at stated 
periods, and upon subjects connected with the re- 
spective courses. 

3. The course of study in the Literary and Scientific 
Course, shall occupy three years, and be divided among 
the several classes as follows, viz. : 

First Year — Third Class. 

The French Language pursued in reference to the 
subjects of the other branches of this course, and to 
modern history; the books to be selected at the discre- 
tion of the Professor. The same mathematical studies 
as are prescribed for the Freslimmi Class. 

Elementary Chemistry and Physics, as prescribed for 
the Sophomore Class — Manipulation in Elementary 



19 

Chemistry — Preparation and examination of Chemical 
Substances. 

Elements of Perspective and Drawing, with the use 
of Water Colours — Construction of Geometrical Pro- 
blems. 

Outlines of Ancient History, with Chronology — 
English Composition. 

Second Year — Second Class. 

History of the Literature of Modern Europe — 
English Compositions, as in the full course. 

The Mathematical Studies prescribed for the Sopho- 
more Class — Chemistry applied to the Arts — Minera- 
logy and Geology, as prescribed for the Junior Class, 

Experimental course of manipulation in Chemical 
Arts — Examination and assay of earthy Minerals as 
used in the Arts, of Ores and Metals — Topographical 
Drawing of Edifices and apparatus used in the Chemi- 
cal Arts, and the applications of Physics, or the prin- 
ciples and practice of Book-keeping by single and 
double entry, according to the intended profession of 
the Student — Drawing in Descriptive Geometry. 

Third Year — First Class. 

Constitutional Jurisprudence of the United States — 
Outlines of Inter-national Law — Principles of Moral 
Philosophy — Evidences of Natural and Revealed Re- 
ligion — Political Economy. 

Theoretic and Practical Mechanics, as prescribed for 
the Senior Class — Manipulations in Practical Me- 
chanics — Drawing in Civil Architecture, of Machines 
and Instruments used in the Mechanic Arts ; of the 
Structures used in Inland Navigation ; of the Carri- 
ages and Engines employed on Railroads, or in Naval 



20 

Arcliitecture, according to the intended profession of 

the Student. 



CHAPTER V. 

OF ad:\iission. 

1. No Student shall be admitted into the Freshman 
class, unless he be accurately acquainted with the 
grammar of both the Greek and Latin tongues, inclu- 
ding such rules of prosody as may be applicable to 
such of the Poets as he is to be examined upon ; be 
master of Caesar's Commentaries, except the last 
book ; of the Orations of Cicero against Catiline, the 
Oration for the Poet Archias, and the Oration for 
Marcus Marcellus ; of the first eight books of Virgil's 
iEneid; of Sallust; of the Gospel according to St. 
Luke and St. John, and the Acts of the Apostles; of 
Jacob's Greek Reader; of the first three books of 
Xenophon's Cyropsedia, and the first three books of 
Homer's Iliad. He shall, also, be able to translate 
English into grammatical Latin; and shall be well 
versed in the first four rules of Arithmetic; the rule 
of three direct and inverse ; vulgar and decimal frac- 
tions, and the extraction of the square root with 
Algebra, as far as the end of simple equations ; inclu- 
ding an accurate acquaintance with the use of Alge- 
braic fractions and fractional and negative exponents ; 
and with modern Geography. 

2. No Student shall be admitted into the lowest 
class of the hterary and scientific course, without a 
grammatical knowledge of the French language, to be 
manifested by translations from Voltaire's Histoire de 
Charles XII., or Bossuet's Discours sur P Histoire Uni- 
verselky and by his abiUty to write the exercises in 



21 

Levizac's Grammar ; nor without the mathematical 
and geographical knowledge required for admission 
into the Freshman class. 

3. The Students admitted shall be arranged alpha- 
betically, nntil the next intermediate examination, 
after which they shall be seated with reference to their 
respective merits, in the manner hereafter designated. 

4. Every Candidate admitted into the Freshman 
class, or into the third class of the literary and scientific 
course, and every Student, at the commencement of 
the academical year, shall write, in the Matriculation 
Book of the College, his own name, and the name and 
place of abode of his Father or Guardian ; by which 
signature he shall be bound to the duties, and enti- 
tled to the privileges of a regular Student. 

5. None but matriculated Students shall be allowed 
to attend the classes upon any pretence whatsoever, 
without the special permission of the Board of Trus- 
tees. 

6. No Student shall be admitted into an upper class 
without being master of the previous part of the 
course. 

7. No Student shall be admitted from any other 
College without being duly qualified, nor without a 
certificate from such College of his good standing. 



CHAPTER VI. 



OF ATTENDANCE 



1. Every Professor shall cause an exact roll to be 
kept of each class attending upon his instructions. 

2. The roll shall be punctually called over at 
the hour of attendance, and all absentees marked. 



22 

Such Students, also, as come into the class late, sha^l 
be marked. 

3. The Students of the two courses, attending the 
same Professor or Instructor at the same time, shall 
be arranged in a common alphabetical order ; be called 
on indiscriminately to recite, and appear together at 
the public examinations. 



CHAPTER VII. 

OF THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE STUDENTS. 

1. Every Student shall conduct himself towards the 
President and Professors with all possible respect ; 
shall take off his hat whenever he meets them ; and, 
if within the College enclosure, shall remain uncovered 
while he speaks to them, or is spoken to by them. 

2. Every Student shall observe the strictest decorum 
when in the class, neither doing nor countenancing 
any thing which may tend to incommode his Teacher, 
or divert the attention of his fellow students. 

3. Every Student, when sent for by the President, 
shall attend without delay. 

4. Every Student, when sent for by any of the Pro- 
fessors, shall attend without delay, unless it be at the 
hour appointed for any of the lectures, in which case 
he shall attend as soon as the lecture is ended. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS. 

1. If any Student shall neglect his studies ; or shall 
interrupt the studies of any other ; or shall disturb 



23 

the President, or any of the Professors ; or shall, in any 
manner, behave indecently, he shall be admonished, 
degraded, suspended, dismissed, or expelled, according 
to the nature and aggravation of his offence. 

2. If any Student shall commence any professional 
study during his academical course, he shall be dis- 
missed from the College. 

3. If any Student shall be guilty of profane cursing 
or swearing ; or be intoxicated with liquor ; or be 
concerned in any riot; or shall strike a fellow student; 
or keep the company of infamous persons ; or procure 
a private key for any room in the College; or frequent 
billiard rooms ; or be guilty of gambling, or of any 
other known vice, he shall be admonished, suspended, 
dismissed, or expelled, according to the nature and 
aggravation of his offence. 

4. If any Student contumaciously resist the authority 
of the President and Professors, or any of them, he 
may be suspended, dismissed, or expelled. 

5. No Student who shall have been expelled, or 
twice dismissed, shall be readmitted. 

6. Whenever a Student shall be publicly admonish- 
ed, suspended, dismissed, or expelled, notice shall be 
immediately given to his Parents or Guardians. 



CHAPTER IX. 

OP THE MODE OF PUNISHMENT. 

t 

1. Complaint of misdemeanor in a Student must 
be made, in the first instance, to the President, who, 
unless the offence be so flagrant as, in his judgment, 
to require the interference of the Board of the College, 



24 

shall privately admonish the offender; and upon failure 
of success may, in his discretion, bring the subject be- 
fore the Board. 

2. A Professor, for misconduct in his presence, may 
cite the offender to appear before the Board. 

3. The punishments, viz. of public admonition, sus- 
pension, degradation, dismission, and expulsion, shall 
be inflicted only by an act of the Board. 

-^ 4. All public punishments shall be according to a 
written form, prepared by the President, as the occa- 
sion may require, which shall be read in the Chapel by 
him, or his substitute, and shall be entered in the Book 
of Discipline. 

5. A Student, whom it may be necessary to bring 
before the Board, shall have due notice of the time and 
place of their meeting, and shall be allowed to defend 
himself. 

6. When a charge of misconduct shall be preferred 
against a Student, the Board shall have power to 
require the attendance of any other Student as a 
witness. 

7. When it shall appear to the Board, that the 
members of a class, or any number of them, have en- 
tered into a combination, in order to avoid collegiate 
duties, or to violate any of the Statutes, or any regula- 
tion of the Board, they may be proceeded against, by 
punishing any one or more who shall be found among 
the number of those who have entered into combina- 
tion for the above unlawful purposes. 

8. When injury has been done to the buildings, or 
other property of the Institution, by any of the Students, 
the Board shall have power to impose pecuniary mulcts, 
to the extent of the damage committed, upon the per- 
sons concerned, or any of them ; and, if unpaid, to 



25 

render an account of the damage to the Parents or 
Guardians of such Students, and in case of their 
neglect or refusal to pay the same, the Board may, 
in their discretion, suspend any Student so offending, 
from attendance upon the lectures, until such fines are 
paid. 

CHAPTER X. 

OF EXAMINATIONS. 

1. There shall be two examinations of all the 
classes every year. The one to commence on the 
first Monday in March, and the other on the first 
Monday in July. The latter shall be the concluding 
examination in an academical year ; the former shall 
be called the intermediate examination. 

2. The examinations shall be held in the presence 
of the President, the Professors, the Students, of a 
Committee of the Trustees, and of such other persons 
as shall choose to attend. 

3. Previous to the intermediate and concluding ex- 
aminations, public notice shall be given, in two of the 
daily papers published in the city, of the time when 
the examinations are to commence. And the Regents 
of the University, the Trustees of the College, the 
Parents and Guardians of Students, and such other 
persons as the President may think proper to invite, 
shall be requested to attend. 

4. The examinations are to be close and rigid ; 
every Student being left to stand or fall upon his 
proper merits; due tenderness being at the same time 
shown, that the effects of perturbation may be avoided 
as much as possible. 

5. At the concluding examination, the board may 

4 



26 

exclude any Student who shall have been deficient in 
the studies of the preceding year, from proceeding to 
a higher class. 

6. Students not permitted to proceed to a higher 
class, shall always be placed at the bottom of the class 
to which they shall be adjudged. 

7. A Student not permitted to proceed to the next 
higher class, may be allowed to take the lowest place 
therein, if, at the intermediate examination, he shall 
appear to have made up his deficiency ; but not if a 
whole year shall have elapsed. 



CHAPTER XL 

OF TESTIMONIALS AND MEDALS. 

1. At the close of every intermediate examination, 
a Testimonial of Merits decorated with the seal of the 
College, and with suitable devices, shall be awarded 
in each class to the Student who shall be considered 
by the Board of the College as of the best general 
standing; and there shall also be awarded by the Presi- 
dent, and the Professor of each respective department, 
a Special Testimonial to the Student of the best stand- 
ing in each particular department of study, exclusive 
of the Student receiving the general testimonial. 

2. The testimonials awarded at the intermediate 
examinations shall be publicly announced, and deli- 
vered by the President in the chapel of the College, on 
the first Monday in April in each year, in the presence 
of the Trustees, Faculty, and Students of the College, 
and of such other persons as shall attend on the invi- 
tation of the President ; after which exercises in 
declamation shall be exhibited by not less than two 
students in each class, to be previously designated by 



27 

the President : those of the senior and junior classes, 
and the first class of the literary and scientific course, 
shall consist of their own compositions in the English 
language, and those of the other classes, of selected 
pieces approved by the President. 

3. At the close of every concluding examination, 
there shall be awarded in each class a gold medal to 
the Student who shall be considered by the Board of 
the College as of the best general standing ; and there 
shall also be awarded by the President, and the Pro- 
fessor of each respective department, a silver medal 
to the Student of the best standing, and a bronze medal 
to the Student of the next best standing in each par- 
ticular department of study, exclusive of the Student 
receiving the gold medal. 

4. The Students of the two courses, where their 
studies and attendance are common, shall compete to- 
gether for the testimonials and medals in the several 
departments. 

5. The medals awarded at the concluding exami- 
nations shall be announced, and conferred at the an- 
nual Commencements ; and the names of the students 
entitled to them shall, by appropriate designations, be 
made to appear in the College books, and also in the 
printed catalogues. 

6. The possessor of the Gold Medal, or General 
Testimonial, in each class, shall be entitled to prece- 
dence in the seats, and in the catalogues, and those of 
inferior medals, or special testimonials, shall be en- 
titled, in alphabetical order, to the next places ; pro- 
vided that those Students who shall receive more than 
one honour shall, in proportion to the numbers, 
take precedence next to those possessing the general 
honours. The other Students, in each class, shall be 
arranged in alphabetical order. 



28 
CHAPTER XII. 

OF COMMENCEMENTS. 

1. There shall be an annual commencement on the 
day following the first JMonday iii October, when aca- 
demical degrees and testimonials shall be conferred. 

2. Previously to conferring the degrees and testimo- 
nials, public exercises shall be performed by the Can- 
didates, in such manner as the Board of the College 
shall direct. 

3. No Student shall be admitted to the degree of 
Bachelor of Arts, unless, besides due proficiency in 
his studies, he shall compose an exercise for the Com- 
mencement, which shall be submitted to the President; 
and the Student who shall refuse or neglect to adopt 
the corrections and amendments pointed out to him, or 
who shall deliver his oration, or exercise for the day, 
otherwise than as approved of by the President, shall 
not receive his degree. 

4. It shall be the duty of the Board to designate 
those wdio are to speak, and also to assign to each 
Speaker his respective part on Commencement day ; 
and any Student neglecting or refusing to perform the 
part assigned to him, shall not receive his degree. 

5. No Alumnus of this College shall obtain the de- 
gree of Master of Arts in less than three years after 
the date of his first diploma ; nor then, unless he shall 
have made such literary progress as, in the judgment 
of the Board, shall entitle him thereto. The President 
may assign to one or more of the Alumni of the Col- 
lege, who may apply for a degree of Master of Arts, 
such orations or exercises as he may deem expedient ; 
which orations or exercises shall be delivered the last 



29 

in the order of the day, the valedictory oration except- 
ed ; but no oration or exercise shall be delivered unless 
approved of by the President. 

6. No person of immoral character shall be admit- 
ted to the honours of this College. 

7. Each Candidate for the degree of Bachelor, or 
Master of Arts, or for the testimonial in the literary 
and scientific course, shall, before the same is conferred, 
pay to the Librarian all arrearages of dues that may 
be payable from him to the College ; and also the 
usual fee of eisrht dollars to the President for confer- 
ring such degree and signing the diploma or testimo- 
nial. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



OF VACATIONS. 



1. There shall be a Vacation of all the classes from 
the last day of July, until the first Monday in October; 
on which day the regular course of study shall com- 
mence. The candidates for admission shall be pre- 
viously examined. 

2. There shal! be an intermission of the public lec- 
tures on the 4th day of July, and from the 24th day 
of December until the 4th day of January. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



OF PUBLIC LECTURES 



1. Public Lectureships shall be established in the 
following departments, viz. : Greek Literature, Roman 
Literature, Oriental Literature, English Literature, 



30 

Chemistry and its applications, Mechanics and Ma- 
chines, Mineralogy and Geology, Architecture and 
Civil Engineering, Moral Philosophy, Elocution, the 
Law of Nations, the Constitutional Jurisprudence of 
the United States, Political Economy, Mathematical 
Science, Experimental Philosophy, Physical and Prac- 
tical Astronomy. 

2. These Lectures, as to the time and place of de- 
livery, shall be under the control of the Board of the 
College, and shall be open to all persons who may 
choose to attend. The President and Professors may, 
at their option, be Lecturers, and the other Lecturers 
may be appointed by the Board of Trustees. The 
Lecturers shall fix and receive the fees of admission to 
their respective lectures. 



CHAPTER XV. 



OF FREE SCHOLARSHIPS. 



1. The Corporation of the City of New- York ; the 
Trustees of the New- York Public School Society ; 
the Trustees or Directors of the Clinton Hall Asso- 
ciation ; of the Mercantile Library Association ; and of 
the Mechanic and Scientific Institution ; the General 
Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of 
New- York, and such other Societies as the Board of 
Trustees may from time to time designate, shall each 
be entitled to have always two Students educated in 
the College free of all charges of tuition. 

2. Every Religious denomination in the City of 
New- York, by its authorized representatives, shall be 
entitled to have always one Student, who may be de- 
signed for the ministry, educated in the College free 
of all charges of tuition. 



31 

3. Every School, except the Grammar School of th^ 
College, from which there shall be admitted in any 
one year, into the College, four Students — shall have 
the privilege of sending one Scholar to be educated 
gratuitously in the College. The nominations to this 
Scholarship shall be made by the Directors or Trus- 
tees of the School ; or, if there be no Trustees or Di- 
rectors, by the Instructor or Instructors. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

OF FOUNDATIONS. 

1. Any person or persons vv^ho may found a scholar- 
ship, to the amount of one thousand dollars^ shall be 
entitled to have one Student educated in the College 
free of all charges of tuition. This right may be 
transferable to others. The scholarship shall bear 
such name as the founder or founders may designate. 

2. Any Religious denominination, or any person or 
persons vt^ho shall endow a Professorship in the Clas- 
sics, in Political, Mathematical, or Physical Science, 
or in the literature of any of the ancient or modern 
Languages, to the amount of twenty thousand dollars, 
shall, forever, have the right of nominating a Profes- 
sor for the same, subject to the approbation of the 
Board of Trustees, who shall hold his office by the same 
tenure as the other Professors of the College t the 
nomination to be made by the authorized representa- 
tives of the religious community, or by the person or 
persons who shall make the endowment, or such per- 
son or persons as he or they may designate. The 
proceeds of the endowment shall be appropriated to the 
salary of the Professor. 



32 



EXTRACT from the second Report of a Committee appointed to inquire into 
the state of Columbia College ; presented to the Board of Trustees, 
February 28th, 1810. — (Referred to in chap. ii. sec. 3. p. 12.) 

*' It appears to your Committee, that the primary 
principle of all sound education, viz. : the evolution of 
faculty and the formation of habit, although deplorably 
neglected in most Seminaries, ought to be so thoroughly 
incorporated in the College system, and even amalga- 
mated with its very elements, as to render progress 
through the classes, without due regard to it by both 
Teacher and Pupil, altogether impracticable. If the 
plan be so constructed as to require ability and dili- 
gence, the want of either of these qualifications in the 
Teacher will betray itself in the embarrassment of his 
department ; and the want of either of them in the 
Pupil will be discovered by his habitual failure in duties 
which a reasonable share of both would have fitted him 
to perform. Your Committee cannot, for a moment, 
suppose, that it is the intention of the Board to try that 
most fruitless and mischievous experiment — the expe- 
riment of educating either the naturally stupid or the 
incurably idle. A volume could not display the magni- 
tude of the injuries inflicted upon letters, upon religion, 
upon morals, upon social prosperity under every form, 
through the protection granted to incapacity and sloth, 
by a timid indulgence, or a chimerical hope. It is, 
therefore, indispensable that the public should see, and 
youth themselves feel, that future Students must both 
have faculties to cultivate, and industry to labour in 
their cultivation, or that Columbia College will be no 
place for them. 

*' With a sufficient reserve for improvements which 
the vigilance of skilful Instructors may point out in the 



33 

practical details, your Committee think, that there 
ought to be an undeviating adherence to the following 
principles, and their general application. 

*' 1. Exactness. By which is understood, the learn- 
ing perfectly whatever is professed to he learned at all. 

*' This can never be attained without attention and 
patience — causing the subject to pass and repass, in 
close and frequent examination, till it become familiar, 
and leave an indelible impression on the mind. The 
exciting of such a habit of attention, as it is the first 
duty, so it is the greatest difficulty, and the most im- 
portant victory of an able Teacher, and the cardinal 
secret of sound education. To produce it, he must in- 
sist, peremptorily and inexorably, upon exactness. His 
Pupils will shrink, they will solicit, they will complain ; 
they may feel a momentary despondence ; but there is 
an elasticity in youth which cannot be long depressed ; 
and a generosity which the firmness of authority, 
softened by a well adapted soothing, can work up 
to astonishing efforts. This observation is fully verified 
in the history of the great Schools in England, where 
accuracy is never dispensed with. The contrary course 
terminates in the worst effects. Let a lad ' get along,' 
as the phrase is, ' pretty well' — let his ideas on a point, 
or his acquaintance with a subject, which he is required 
to master, be only general and confused — let him con- 
jecture, where he should be certain ; let his Preceptor 
almost put the answer into his mouth, when he hardly 
knows which way to guess — and he is bribed to intel- 
lectual sloth ; the season in which he should fix habits 
of discrimination, as well as of prompt acquisition, 
passes by ; and though he bring to the College good 
native powers, he will leave it with a mind inert and 
unproductive. Let the idea, then, of a medium between 

5 



34 

scholarship and no scholarship, be for ever banished. , 
Let the ideas of doing a thing, and doing it well, be 
identified in the minds of both Professor and Student ; 
and let the doing a thing by halves, be equivalent with 
not doing it all. 

*' 2. Punctuality, By which your Committee mean, 
that the performance of all exercises should be limited 
to a certain time, and then be rigorously exacted. The 
Teacher will, of course, take care that they be both 
reasonable and sufficient. Under these conditions 
nothing but a physical impossibility, or such a hin- 
drance as cannot be at all referred to indolence or 
evasion, should excuse for non-performance. Exact- 
ness is not to be expected without painful labour. 
Labour will not be regular and ardent without the hard 
pressure of necessity. Let it be ascertained that there 
is no escape ; that the thing must be done, and it will 
be done. Such an urgency upon the mind disarms 
temptations to trifling, and often to vice ; keeps it bent 
on the period and the matter of duty ; throws it into 
strong action, and, perhaps, which is still better, into a 
sort of agony ; hence spring the finest, the most mag- 
nificent eff'usions of human genius. There exists no 
more fatal enemy to diligence, improvement, and ex- 
cellence, than the persuasion that ' there is time 
enough.' 

" 3. Progression. By which your Committee would 
express a gradation of exercises, from easier and 
shorter, to more difficult and ample, according to the 
power of performance. 

" During the whole course of education the youthful 
faculties are to be kept upon the stretch. As they de- 
velope themselves, and gain strength, they are to be 
employed in work demanding severer tension, and 



35 

more dauntless vigour. As in mathematical science 
every preceding proposition is an instrument in the 
demonstration of those w^hich follow ; so, in all the 
branches of education, every thing which, before being 
learned, is an end, becomes, when learned, ameans, and 
is to be applied, in its turn, to the remoter and ab- 
struser investigations. On no account, therefore, ought 
Students in the more advanced classes, to spend their 
time in those elementary studies which occupy begin- 
ners. It is the impoverishment of intellect — it is a 
waste of life — it never can be necessary, unless the 
necessity be created by some mismanagement in the 
system. 

"In conformity with these general principles, it is 
the conviction of your Committee, that the hours spent 
by the classes with the Professors should be chiefly de- 
voted to examination* It is the duty of the Professor 
to use his information not so much for the purpose of 
displaying it before his pupils, as to direct and assist 
them in getting information for themselves — to employ 
his sagacity and address in eliciting their faculties, and 
inuring them to the habit of thinking. The experience 
of different countries has shown, that regular attend- 
ance upon lectures, and profound admiration of the 
lecturer, are perfectly compatible with ignorance, with 
laziness, and with stupidity. If, as Dr. Goldsmith 
observes, there are many authors who 'write through 
a volume without thinking through a page,' there are 
also innumerable instances of youth going through a 
four years' course, and, as it is absurdly styled, ' finish- 
ing their education,' without having their powers, even 
for once, put fairly to the test. 

"In acting upon the plans suggested by your Com- 
mittee, the instructions of the Professors should be ad- 



36 

justed to each other, so far as the nature of their 
respeclive branches shall permit. This can be done 
to great extent and advantage by the Professor of 
Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, and the Professor of Lan- 
guages. The classical, which are the principal studies 
in both our own and the learned tongues, are natural 
allies, and easily associated. The Professor of Lan- 
guages should point out, elucidate, and endeavour to 
make his pupils understand, those unrivalled specimens 
of taste, of eloquence, and of wisdom, with which the 
ancient writers abound. And the Professor of Rhe- 
toric and Belles Lettres should refer for examples to 
those writers particularly who are studied under the 
Professor of Languages, comparing them with each 
other, with the best writers in our own language, and 
especially with the inspired writings. To exemplify : 

'* When there occurs in the lesson of the day a splen- 
did description, the Student must be taught to mark 
the selection of circumstances — the order of arrange- 
ment — the grouping of images — the choice of words. 

'' When there occurs a fine and spirited criticism, as 
in every page of Longinus, to thoroughly comprehend 
his sense, and to trace the correspondence between his 
principles and his illustrations. 

" When there occurs an instance of able disquisition, 
as in the Orations of Demosthenes, the Student should be 
obliged not only to translate his words, but to analyze 
his argtmient. The same principles, properly modified, 
should pervade the whole course. 

'* Your Committee are sensible, that this method is 
not calculated to impart immediate eclat to the Profes- 
sors ; but they are equally sensible, that it will render 
the College incomparably more useful than she has 
ever been ; and that it will eventually shed lustre upon 
both those who teach and those who learn. 



37 

" They are also sensible, that it requires no ordinary 
degree of understanding, of dignity, of taste, of diligent 
and patient labour in the Professors ; but they judge 
also, that no exertion is too arduous, and no sacrifice 
too costly, to insure the highest display of these profes- 
sional virtues. 

" Your Committee consider the course of instruction, 
according to the preceding views, to be, in reality, the 
discipline of the College ; but they feel the necessity of 
some strong motives to enforce compliance on the part 
of the Students. These motives they conceive to be all 
comprised in that broad principle — appeal to a sense of 
character, 

'< Forgiving to this appeal its just influence, they are 
of opinion, that the system of examination should he 
improved, and should be accompanied with certain 
coercions which operate upon effort through the imagi- 
nation. 

" The improvement which they would suggest, con- 
sists chiefly in rendering the examinations, especially 
the one which closes an academical year, most solemn 
and splendid. So that the figure which a youth makes 
shall be exhibited, and the rank which he deserves, 
shall be proclaimed, under circumstances the most im- 
pressive and interesting to his mind. To eflfect this 
end, it is requisite that he and not his Preceptor, draw 
the attention of the assembly — that he stand or fall, 
absolutely upon his own merits ; and, without impair- 
ing the tenderness proper toward an agitated, which is 
frequently the noblest spirit, that both the aid and the 
reproofs common and needful in the stated class, be 
entirely withdrawn. The bare expectation of such an 
analysis of his capacity and acquirement, will more 
powerfully affect him, and be a more regular and ef- 



38 

ficient stimulus, than all the fines which have ever been^ 
incurred. But it will be necessary to go a step further, 
and deepen the impressions to be thus produced, by 
adequate rewards and punishments. These may be, 

"1. Promotion from one class to another. The rule 
to be, that no Student shall, upon any consideration, be 
allowed to advance from a lower to a higher class, 
without being master of the previous studies. 

" Your Committee hold this rule to be of unspeakable 
moment. The practice of carrying boys along, year 
after year, as a matter of course, without regard to their 
improvement, or with so slight a regard to it, as proves, 
in fact, to be merely nominal, is worse than trifling. It 
is the death-blow to solid education, and the destruction 
of unnumbered youth. Nothing but ignorance or dis- 
regard of the springs of human action, will engender, 
or will embrace the notion, that a just ardour and emu- 
lation can be excited or maintained, when the idler 
and the blockhead are linked with the lad of industry 
and talent, during a four years' probation, and, at the 
end of it, are admitted alike to academical honours. 
To produce and preserve such ardour and emulation, a 
strong distinction must be instituted and kept up be- 
tween those Students who acquit themselves well, and 
those who acquit themselves ill. The cause of de- 
ficiency (which does not include perturbation arising 
from awe and anxiety) is, in the judgment of your 
Committee, perfectly immaterial. The object of the 
College is to educate. Studies which precede, are 
only an introduction to studies which follow. Her 
course must be conducted on the assumption that they 
are mastered in their place. Whether it be from in- 
capacity, from negligence, from dislike, from absence, 
from sickness, the want of preliminary acquisition must 



39 

effectually preclude access to a higher class. Even the 
case which most excites commiseration and pleads for 
indulgence, viz : deficiency occasioned by sickness, 
should have no influence upon the rule or upon its < xe- 
cution. The general fact is the same ; and a boy's 
unfitness is not the less unfit because it was his mis- 
fortune to have been sick. If the spirit of the course be 
cherished, he cannot get on in a superior class without 
a pressure which, instead of only urging him, may crush 
him altogether. It would be absurd tenderness to break 
him down with mental labour, because he has already 
been broken down by the hand of disease ; not to insist 
that the exception itself is liable to extensive abuse. 
The Board will demand no proof that it is a very pos- 
sible thing for a lad to get sick in order to save his re- 
putation. Advancement, therefore, from one class to 
another, must be, in itself, an argument and a reward 
of merit. This association, in the minds of both the 
Pupil and the Public, appears to your Committee to be 
of essential moment, insomuch as, without it, the force 
of other inducements will be impaired ; and, if the rule 
which is to create it be broken through, the College will 
inevitably relapse. The chief difficulty may be antici- 
pated in the end of the first, or Freshmen year. But 
this will probably be far greater in prospect than in 
experience. For if the statute respecting admission be 
faithfully enforced, such a mass of natural incompetency 
will be excluded, as to leave comparatively, but little 
further obstruction which shall not arise from negli- 
gence. And the examination at the expiration of the 
first half year, will be an admonition which shall render 
the offender without excuse. 

"As an appendage to this rule, your Committee 
would observe, that a practice, of which an example is 



40 

stated in the Report of the Faculty of Arts to this 
Board on the 14th instant, viz. the allowing boys to 
attend and study along with a class they were unfit to 
enter, with a view of qualifying themselves for entrance 
at a subsequent examination, must be absolutely inter- 
dicted. The impropriety is so glaring that your Com- 
mittee are surprised it ever should have existed. For 
it is self-evident, that, if these extra-students can go 
along with the class, they were not unfit for entrance ; 
and if they were unfit for entrance, they cannot go 
along with the class. Either, then, the studies of the 
class must be lowered to them, or they must be put to 
studies to which, by the very terms of the representa- 
tion, they are unequal. In the one case, they are sa- 
crificed to the class, in the other, which is still worse, 
the class is sacrificed to them ; and if this double clas- 
sification be permitted, a principle is sanctioned which 
will speedily evade every possible precaution. 

" 2. Promotion in the class, which may take place 
both at the intermediate examination, and at the close 
of the academical year. 

*'The principle to be chiefly regarded in all criminal 
jurisprudence, is less the severity, than the certainty , of 
punishment. A Student should, therefore, know, that 
dispensation with academical law, or connivance at es- 
cape from merited censure, are out of the question.'* 



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